Pathways
by Moonfire Morgaine
Summary: A lot's happened in La Push while Jacob's been away, even though everything seems the same on the surface. But Embry's got a new friend that's been hanging around with the Quileute pack, an apparent drifter who may just have more secrets than any of them.
1. Who Says You Can't Go Home?

**Author's Note: **I don't own Twilight. I apologize if Jacob and the boys seem a bit out of character… I'm not used to writing them quite yet. Reader reviews are always appreciated!

Chapter One: Who Says You Can't Go Home?

_"With every step I take, I know that I'm not alone  
You take the home from the boy, but not the boy from his home  
These are my streets, the only life I've ever known…"--Bon Jovi_

The wolf had been running for what seemed like days. When he stopped to rest, his sides were heaving and his tongue lolled out of his mouth, panting heavily. He was careful to stop far away from the more well-used trails, though it was difficult to hide a creature as conspicuous as he was. He was more the height of a bear than a wolf, with shaggy russet-brown fur and lively, intelligent black eyes. The smells of the forest were becoming more familiar, and the wolf knew that soon he would be home. The months he had spent away from home had changed him, matured him, and had brought him closer to the wolf in him. The Northwest Territories in Canada had appealed to him because of their remoteness, and there had been several points when he had considered staying there, as a wolf, until he had completely forgotten Bella Swan and the vampire that had stolen her away from him. The voices of the pack had become distant as he passed the three-hundred mile range, a background noise rather than a conversation he was expected to participate in. However, he could not stay away from the pack forever. His Alpha had a message for him, one that was important enough to send Jacob Black running, at top speed, back to the Olympic Peninsula.

_Jake, you need to come back. Sue and Charlie are worried about Billy. They think he might be getting worse._

Sam's words had haunted him the entire way back from Yellowknife. He had taken off without really telling his father where he was going, instead leaving it up to Sam and the others to break the news to Billy. The guys hadn't told Billy the exact truth, only that it had to do with Bella choosing Edward over Jacob. Billy had been disappointed and angry, but he understood Jacob's reasons for wanting to leave. However, no one thought that he would stay away so long. It was unfair to Billy, as well as to Sam and the rest of the pack, but Jacob knew that he couldn't stay any longer, watching the girl he loved give up her life for an icy, stone-skinned leech. The thought alone made him want to howl in pain. He had been the one to help Bella pick up the pieces after Edward abandoned her, and she in turn had abandoned him. Every time he let himself think of the battle with the newborns, he felt a dull ache in the vicinity of his chest as he remembered spending the night as Bella's "space heater", their kiss, and finally, hearing that Bella, his Bella, was going to marry her bloodsucking boyfriend and leave him behind. He had promised never to hurt her, but he had never imagined that in the end, she would be the one to hurt him.

When he had recovered his breath and banished his memories of Bella to the back of his mind, Jacob picked himself up and continued on. Every minute seemed like it was an eternity, but soon enough he was near the borders of the La Push reservation. It felt good to be home, despite the still-painful memories that had assaulted him as soon as he'd returned to normal human thought. It was nearing sunset, which meant that he didn't have long to wait before the rest of his pack phased and went on patrol. The Cullens were staying on their side of the treaty line, but one never knew when some other bloodsucker, unrelated to the 'vegetarian' Cullen clan, would come through the area. Though his father knew perfectly well what he was, Jake didn't feel like greeting Billy in the buff. Somehow, he didn't think that Billy wanted to be that surprised by his return.

As he laid down and waited, Jake looked around at what he could see of the reservation through the trees. Not much had changed, which was comforting. He saw several familiar faces, but none belonged to anyone in his pack. With a sigh, Jacob turned his attention back to the woods, staring at a squirrel near the base of a tree. He was contemplating pouncing on the little thing, just for the hell of it, when a chorus of voices invaded his head. The guys were positively joyful about his return, and even Leah seemed less tempestuous than normal. Sam pushed his way through the others, holding a pair of folded black sweatpants in his outstretched arms.

"Figured you might need these," he said, and the wolf nodded his assent before gently taking the offered clothes in his teeth and disappearing into the forest. A couple of minutes later, a barefoot and bare-chested Jacob came out of the woods to greet them all. The four who had to go out on patrol--Jared, Paul, Brady, and Colin--promised to catch up with him later, thumping him on the back affectionately. Seth, the youngest of the group and the one who idolized Jacob the most, bounded forth excitedly, narrowly beating Embry and Quil to him.

Soon enough, everyone was talking, filling Jacob in on the most recent happenings in La Push. Most of it was school gossip, and though Jacob didn't really care too much, it made him feel much more human. Sam and Leah stayed fairly quiet, letting the younger boys do the talking as they walked out of the woods and into La Push. Some people stared at them as the headed toward the Blacks' house, but most of them just gave a little wave before returning to whatever it was they were doing.

"So, what did Billy say? You know, to explain?" he asked, speaking quietly so that only Embry and Quil could hear him.

"Said that you'd gone up north to live with your mom's family. Everyone kind of figured that it was because she took off," Quil replied, and Jacob nodded. There were only a handful of people who understood why he had left, but the story that had been told was close enough to the truth.

"Some people also figured that Billy, you know, didn't want you to have to take care of him all the time, so the other rumor is that he sent you away so that you could have some freedom. They all know that Billy might be getting worse, so that's why they think you came back, in any case," Embry explained, giving Jacob a little half-grin. Jacob was silent as he mulled over this, silently berating himself for having left his father so abruptly.

Though neither Embry nor Quil could hear his thoughts, Embry seemed to know exactly what was going on in his head. "On the bright side, Billy doesn't blame you. Not really. He said that when you left the house after getting the invitation, he didn't expect you to come back right away. Which means that you can come to the bonfire this weekend, right?"

"Bonfire? Um, yeah, I guess so. Have you guys been planning this or something?" he asked, looking at his two best friends suspiciously. Embry just shrugged, but it was Quil who gave it away with a rapidly widening grin.

"Look at it this way, man. We're celebrating your return to La Push. You've been gone for months and we've hardly heard anything from you since you took off. And besides, Embry just wants an excuse to show off his new girlfriend," he said, which got him an elbow to the ribs from Embry. Jacob couldn't help but laugh at them, as Quil tried to take a swing at Embry's head.

"She's not my freaking girlfriend!"

"Then who is she?" Jacob asked, suddenly curious.

"Just a girl I know from work. Her name's Rena Vecchio. She's new in town, moved here from Seattle a couple months back, and got a job at Thriftway around the same time I did. Said she hated the city and wanted to go someplace quieter, so she moved out here after she graduated high school. She's a pretty cool girl, and she's been down here to hang out a few times, since she doesn't really know a lot of people her age besides me," Embry explained, hoping that Jacob would be convinced that he wasn't interested in Rena like that.

Jacob was going to ask more about the mystery girl that Embry wanted to prove was "only a friend", but he didn't have time. Too late, he had noticed that Sam, Leah, and Seth had dropped away, leaving only Embry and Quil to escort him to the front door of his house. He didn't see Charlie's cruiser, but Sue's truck was in the driveway, and soon enough he realized that both she and his father were staring at him through the living room window.

"See you later, man."

"Don't forget, Jake: this weekend, First Beach, bonfire, I'll force you out of the house if I have to."

"Yeah, I got it. See you around."

And with that, Jacob opened the door to face his father.


	2. Cellophane Sun

**Chapter Two: Cellophane Sun**

"_Morning is a dream, a break in the night  
__Life is but a scene, a moment in time  
__The serpent all the while is lying in waiting  
__And a cellophane sun hangs low in the sky…"  
--Adam Pascal_

Surprisingly enough, Billy was more happy than angry with his son when Jacob finally came home. Granted, he did have Jacob doing more than his share of chores around the house, but Billy let his son out of the house for the bonfire that the boys and Leah had set up on the beach. The pack had functioned well in Jacob's absence, but Billy knew that they were as glad as he was to have Jacob back in La Push. Nothing had been the same without his presence, even though the boy was convinced that nothing had changed while he was away. In another week, he would be going back to school, picking up in his junior year so that he still had a chance at graduating. Finishing high school didn't mean all that much to Jacob, but he knew that Billy wanted to see him in his cap and gown, so he figured he'd give it his best shot.

Pulling on a pair of faded blue jeans and a plain black tee shirt, Jacob stuffed his feet into some sneakers and headed down to the beach. The driftwood fire was already roaring, its bluish flames welcoming him back to his proper place. He waved to Sam and Emily and nodded to Jared and Kim, then looked over at Embry. He didn't recognize the girl that his friend was talking to, so he assumed that this must be the mysterious Rena that Quil had been giving him so much shit about this past week. She was on the other side of the fire, talking animatedly to Embry and Paul about something, and laughing. Her hair, somewhere between a light brown and a dark blonde, shone in the light of the fire as she shifted her weight from one hip to another, reaching out to smack Embry lightly on the arm. As he turned to duck the blow, he grinned at Jacob and waved him over. Jacob shrugged his shoulders and went, figuring he should probably introduce himself to this new girl, since she seemed pretty well-known to everyone else in the pack.

"Hey," she said, walking over to him. "You must be the famous Jacob Black. I'm Rena." She extended a hand to him, her eyes looking directly into his. Over her head, Embry shrugged, as if to imply that he didn't quite know what to do with his friend. Jacob took her hand in his and shook it, smiling at her in spite of himself. Maybe it was because she had been exposed to the other guys, but it was nice to see that she wasn't shrinking away from him and giggling shyly like the girls at school.

"Pleasure's all mine, Rena. So, what kind of lies have these guys been telling you?" he asked, wondering what kind of ridiculous stories his friends had come up with.

"Oh, you know, the usual. You were off on a top secret CIA mission, which you cleverly disguised as your sudden desire to go on a spirit quest," Embry chimed in, laughing. Jacob rolled his eyes, but his impish grin remained on his face. Trust Embry to come up with something so weird and completely unbelievable.

Rena raised an eyebrow, turning a bit so that she could see Embry. "Yeah, okay, sure. Besides sharing stories of how you knocked all the girls dead at school, all I know is that you live with your dad and that you're pretty good with cars. And that you just got back from spending some time with your mom's relatives."

"So how does that make me famous?" he asked her. Jacob was surprised by how easy it was to like her. Though Leah had a similarly frank, open manner, Rena lacked the bitterness that seemed to have permeated every aspect of Leah's personality. Rena laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners as her full lips cracked into a smile.

"Well, until tonight, I never had the opportunity to meet you. If Embry hadn't pointed Billy out to me last month, I don't think I would've believed you even existed," she replied. "But I'm sort of glad that you do, mainly because it's one more person to give Embry shit about me."

"Okay. So long as they didn't have you falling for some ridiculous story or something. What's the deal with you two, anyway?"

Rena shrugged her shoulders, her eyes meeting his once more. "He's just a friend. Quil and the others make fun of him for bringing me around so much, but I think he only does it because he feels sorry for me. I live alone, and it's been kind of hard for me to meet people. But I like it down here. You guys are all so close, it's like hanging out with members of a family, rather than friends." Jacob crossed his arms over his chest, nodding. There weren't many people who lived alone around here if they were under the age of sixty, and he was sure that her living alone had started some stupid rumor about why. He was kind of glad, though, that Embry had started bringing her around. She might not know everything that was going on, but at least now she had some people to call friends here.

The two of them continued talking, oblivious to the fact that Embry had slipped away and left them alone. Rena was a naturally friendly person, but it seemed that she was connecting with Jacob much more quickly than she had with anyone else she had met in La Push. Catching Quil's glance, Embry went over and sat down next to him.

"You sure you want to leave Jake alone with your girl?" Quil asked, glancing at them out of the corner of his eye.

"How many times do I have to tell you she's not my girl? Besides, this was sort of what I had in mind when I invited her out here tonight," Embry responded, grinning as he watched his plan in action. He kept his voice low, making sure that only Quil would be able to hear him. "When I first started hanging out with her, I didn't think of it, but when Jacob came home…"

"I hope it'll help. I know he'll never admit it, but Bella really pulled a number on him by marrying that leech. At least Rena doesn't have a thing for vampires, and she's completely unattached. She is, isn't she?"

"I guess so. She's never told me about a boyfriend, but then again, she doesn't talk much about anything that happened over a month ago. It's kind of weird, actually. She'll talk forever about movies, music, sports--she's a Seahawks and Mariners fan--funny stuff in the news, and work, but I don't think I've ever heard Rena mention anything about her personal life. I mean, she's met everyone here, my mom likes her, and at the same time I don't even know where she lives," he said, looking over at Rena again. No matter how open and friendly she seemed, Embry was beginning to realize that his new friend was keeping more secrets than he was. He and Quil exchanged looks, and suddenly Embry noticed the potentially huge flaw in this brilliant plan of his. Harmless as she might have seemed, the lack of personal information was worrying to him.

While Embry puzzled over this new development, someone had decided to break out the economy-sized pack of hot dogs, and soon everyone was grabbing sticks and spearing dogs to roast. The sun was starting to set, and soon the entire group had settled into a comfortable conversation. Rena was dividing her attention among Embry, Quil, and Jacob, discussing the latest action movie and cracking jokes. Though she had only been hanging out with them for a couple of months, Rena was starting to think of Embry's gang as her friends. They were so great to watch when they were together, and most of them had accepted her as a part of the group without much hesitation. Sam and his fiancé Emily were still a bit distant with her, as were Jared, Kim, and Leah, but she just chalked that up to them being in relationships--or in Leah's case, to wanting to protect "her" boys from the presence of a stranger.

When Jacob asked Embry something about the dirt bike he was working on, Rena tried to keep up with the conversation, but she very quickly lost track of what was going on. They were getting into all sorts of technical stuff that she didn't quite get, even though she liked to consider herself pretty well-informed about motor vehicles. Instead, she let her mind drift, absently picking at the well-done hot dog on her stick. The boys couldn't seem to get enough food, but Rena figured that a bunch of guys who all topped six feet would require an all-you-can-eat buffet in order to feel really full. She watched them with a little half-smile on her lips, loving the way they interacted with one another. It made her wish that she'd had friends like these when she was growing up, the kind of friends who became family. She knew some of them actually were related by blood, but they had all grown up together, gone to the same school, shared the same experiences. The schools she'd gone to in Seattle hadn't been like that. There were simply too many kids from too many different backgrounds, and Rena had always been slightly on the outside of everything, much like she was now.

"Rena? Hey, Rena, come back to earth!" Embry waved his hand in her face, making her blink in surprise. It took a moment for her brain to catch up with what was going on, but when it clicked, she grinned.

"Oh, is it time for me to rejoin the conversation?" she retorted, her happy expression giving the lie to her sarcastic tone of voice.

"Since you're the subject of it, it's kind of required. Jake here doesn't believe that you can read palms." Rena rolled her eyes, then shifted her position on the dry log she was sitting on so that she could face Jacob better. She tucked one leg up, letting the other rest on the beach.

"C'mon, guys, you don't really believe in that stuff, do you?" Jacob said, glancing from Embry to Rena. Embry just shrugged his shoulders in response, as did Quil.

"I was there when she did it to Embry, man. Some of it sounded like it could've been about anybody--" Rena stuck her tongue out at Quil at this point, but he just grinned at her continued, "--but most of it was right on the mark."

"Well, palmistry is more for what's currently going on in your life, and the paths you're most suited for. It's like one of those personality tests, only I can see it in your hands. The lines of the palm aren't static, you know. They change and grow along with us. The dominant hand shows what is, the recessive hand shows what was. So basically I can read your life story off the palms of your hands," she explained, watching Jacob's reaction. He opened his hands and looked at the palms, studying the way the lines crisscrossed for a long moment.

"Sure, give it a try. Let's see how good you really are at this," he said, his eyes meeting hers as if to lay down the challenge to her. Shifting herself into a cross-legged position, she took Jacob's hands in hers and laid them on her knees, holding him lightly by the wrists.

"Wow…" she murmured, her head bent over her lap. "For a seventeen-year-old, you sure have lead one hell of a life."


End file.
